Garrett Bernard Atkins Bio Info

Garrett Bernard Atkins...Is a 1997 graduate of University High School in Irvine, CA, where he played baseball and set
records with a school-best 13 home runs and 49 runs scored as a senior...Was the first ever three-time UCLA All-American, where he
started every game of his three-year career...Was only the second player in school history to earn all-Pac 10 honors three years in a
row...Finished second in school history in career batting average (.369) and hits (276) while ranking second in doubles (56)...Hit .383
as a freshman in 1998, which was the eighth-best mark in Bruins history...Compiled a school record 33-game hitting streak as a
freshman...Was a teammate of Chase Utley at UCLA.2010Spent three months playing with Baltimore after playing first 10 years of professional career in Colorado
organization...Made all 30 defensive appearances (all starts) at third base...Also went 9-for-29 (.310) in nine games as the designated
hitter...Hit safely in each of his first five games (7-for-20, .350)...Recorded a season-high three hits on 5/4 at New York (AL)...Hit lone
home run on 5/26 vs. Oakland to snap a 145 at bat homerless streak (one at bat shy of career high)...Was designated for assignment
on 6/27, unconditionally released on 7/8 and did not play the remainder of the season.2009Hit .226 (80-for-354) in 126 games for the Rockies, .268 (37-138) vs. lefties and .199 (43-216) against right-handers...Made 4th consecutive Opening Day start at third base; went 0-for-3 with a walk and is still seeking his first Opening Day hit (0-15)...Made 75 starts at third base (78 games) and 11 starts at first base (28 games)...Made 2 errors in a game at third base twice: May 14 vs. HOU and September 15 @SF; had just one error at first base...Went 4-for-24 (.167) with 4 RBI, 4 walks and 9 strikeouts as a pinch-hitter; AB's as PH set a career-high...Ranked 9th in the NL with 61.7% of pitches taken...Hit safely in 16 of his first 23 games...Batted a season-best .327 (18-55) in 18 games in June...Batted .438 (14-32) in 10 Interleague games...Had 6th career multi-HR game, June 4 @HOU...Slugged more than 100 points below his career mark, as he set career lows in doubles, homers and total bases...Homered in consecutive games, April 10-11...Collected an RBI in 4 straight games, April 8-12...Went 11-for-86 (.128) in 26 games, May 5-June 3...Had 3 straight multi-hit games, June 24-27 (3 hits on June 24 and 26)...Had game-winning RBI on pinch-hit 2-run double with 2 out in 8th vs. ATL on July 9...Broke up Josh Johnson no-hitter with solo HR with 2 outs in the 7th on August 14 @FLA...Finished the season going 25-for-82 (.305) vs. LHP after June 42008Finished with a .286 (175-for-611) average, 32 doubles, 21 home runs and 99 RBI in 155
games...led all Rockies players in several offensive categories including games, at-bats, plate appearances (664) and RBI...it marked the third time in the last four years Atkins has led the club in RBI (also 2005-06)...finished 6th in the NL in multi-hit games (52), T-10th in AB's, 13th in hits and T-15th in RBI...fell just 1
RBI shy of his logging his third straight 20-HR, 100-RBI season (2006-07)...batted .357 (50-140) vs. lefty pitchers, the 6th-highest mark in the NL; led the league in that category during parts of the '08 season...batted .342 (102-298) at Coors Field, the 4th-best mark at home in the NL; had a 19-game home hitstreak from 7/6-8/24...finished the season with 725 career hits, which ranks 8th all-time on the Rockies hits list...posted the lowest on-base pct. of his career (.328) and his lowest slugging pct. (.452) since 2005...led the club with 119 singles and his 276 total bases were his fewest since '05...drew career-low 40 walks and recorded career-high 100 strikeouts...a career .294 hitter with runners in scoring position, he hit .225 (42-
for-187) in that situation in 2008; had the 2nd-most AB's w/RISP in the NL behind New York's David Wright (189 AB)...normally a slow starter, he had the highest first half hit (112) and home run totals (14) of his career...ranked T-6th in the NL with 116 hits at the All-Star break while posting a .304 average through the first half...played 94 games (92 starts) at third base before playing his final 60 games as 1B; did not play 3B after 7/18 vs. PIT...his .964 fielding pct. at 3B was the best single season mark of his career...he logged
a .990 fielding pct. at 1B, a position he played only 16 times in the Majors (4 starts) prior to this season...
Atkins' 61 games at 1B were the most for any Rockies player other than Todd Helton since Andres
Galarraga (154 games) in 1997...was on the Opening Day roster for the 3rd straight season and made his 3rd Opening Day start; went 0-for-3 and is now 0-for-12 all-time on Opening Day...walked for the 200th time in his career 4/19 at HOU...homered in 3 straight games and 4 of 5 contests from 4/18-22; 3-game streak with HR tied Atkins' longest career game-home run streak (3 games), also accomplished from June 14-16, 2007...had at least one hit in 41 of his first 47 games to start season as his average peaked at .344 on 5/19...established April career highs in hits (38), homers (6) and RBI (21); his 38 hits in April are T-4th-most by a Rockie during the first month of the season...played 8.1 inn. at 2B 4/29 at SF (first prof. game at 2B)...had 3 putouts, 5 assists and was involved in 2 double plays with no errors...did not start 5/15 (last Rox player on Opening Day roster to do so), but did pinch hit...was late scratch from lineup due to stiff neck 5/25 vs. NYM; marked first time in '08 that he did not appear in a game, as he played in first 48 games...returned to the lineup 5/26 after missing 3 games with a stiff neck and back spasms...following the injury, had an 0-for-18 stretch...finished May with a .305 (29-95) avg. with 2 HR's and 9 RBI; still led Rox in RBI (30) through the end of May...hitless on road trip to Chicago vs. White Sox (0-for-11)...hit back-to-back homers with Brad Hawpe 6/21; was his team-leading 10th home run in the Rockies' 75th game as he became the first
Rockie to reach double figures in homers; Rox had no players with 10 homers through the club's first 74
games and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the latest into a season that the Rockies had
no player reach the 10-home run plateau...had only 1 extra-base hit (double) in 10 Interleague games in
'08 (37 AB)...finished a triple shy of cycle and had 3-run HR on 7/2 (his first 4-RBI game since 8/29/07 at
SF)...set career high with 5 hits 7/4 vs. FLA, the first 5-hit game by a Rockie since Kaz Matsui (5-for-5;
7/3/07 vs. NYM)...had 4th career 2-HR game 7/9; 1st HR gave Rox lead...finished with 26 RBI in July, T-2nd in NL (had 21 RBI in all of May/June combined)...recorded 400th career RBI with RBI-single in the 5th inn. 7/30 at PIT becoming just the 7th Rockie to reach 400-RBI plateau...hit safely in all 7 games of 7/17-23 homestand (8-for-29)...went 4-for-8 during 8/7 doubleheader vs. WAS to break out of 5-for-35 (.143) slump...did not play 8/12 due to flu-like symptoms (missed 2 games)...had started the previous 22 games at 1B...3rd-inning single 8/25 vs. SF was his 700th hit...provided winning margin of victory for Rox 8/29 at SD by hitting two home runs with 5 RBI in the Rox 9-4 victory; ended 10-for-51 slump (.196 avg) over his previous 12 games with no home runs and 5 RBI (first long ball in 60 at bats)...hit game-tying solo HR in 9th inn. off Mike Gonzalez to force extra-innings 9/9 at ATL (marked Gonzalez' first blown save since 6/25/04, a streak of 39 consecutive save conversions - was longest active streak in MLB)...recorded 92nd RBI with a sacrifice fly 9/20 vs. ARI; was the 10th and final sac fly by Atkins in 2008, as he finished T-3rd in the NL in that category...his 10 sac flies were 2 shy of the Rockies single season high in franchise history and also marked his 2nd straight season with 10 SF's...hit 3-R HR 9/21 vs. ARI to give him 3 straight 20-plus HR seasons (since '06)...hit .256 (21-82) with 3 HR's in the final month of the season; marked his lowest hit total for any month in '08...batted just .253 (47-186) during the final 2 months of the season (since 8/1)...went 0-for-2 w/RISP in his final 2 games of the year as he fell one RBI shy of reach the century mark...went 4-forlast-27 (.148) w/RISP from 8/30-end of the season.2007After a slow start, Atkins returned to his 2006 form over the season's final four months, finishing
with a .301 average, 25 home runs, and 111 RBI in 157 games for Colorado...it was his second straight
100-RBI campaign...hit better vs. right-handed pitchers (.307) than lefties (.286)...had a .349 average at
home, .254 on the road...still managed a .307 average with runners in scoring position, including a .425
(31-73) figure over his final 63 games...had 3 hits with RISP in a game on three different occasions...hit .364
(8-for-22) with the bases loaded, including a pair of grand slams...hit grand slams on June 14 at Boston
and Aug. 4 at Atlanta...hit .315 (41-for-130) vs. NL East teams, highest average vs. any NL division...hit
.500 (11-for-22) vs. Florida, .417 (10-for-24) vs. Milwaukee, and .412 (7-for-17) vs. Cincinnati...after spending
April hitting third in batting order, spent most of final five months in the fifth slot...started 153 of team's 163
games at third base, compiling a .963 (13 e/349 tc) fielding pct...had 10 games/two starts at first base, with
those starts coming Aug. 11 vs. Chicago-NL and Aug. 22 vs. Pittsburgh...now has just four starts at first base
in his career...hit .260 in April, but just .188 in May...did not start two straight games June 1-2, a decision by
Clint Hurdle to give Atkins a mental break...hit just .223 (44-for-197) with three home runs, 20 RBI and 13 doubles
in his first 52 games through June 1...his only game with more than two hits in that season-opening span
came April 21 vs. San Diego, when he matched a club record with three doubles (3-for-4)...it was the only three-
double game by a Rockie this season...after those two non-starts, batted .338 (138-408) with 22 HR and 91
RBI over his final 105 games beginning June 3 to raise season average 78 points from .223 to .301...his
.338 average in that span ranked fifth in the NL beginning June 3...had 88 RBI over his final 97 games
beginning June 13, fourth-most in the major leagues...had season-high three walks, June 7 vs.
Houston...homered in three straight for the first time in his career June 14-16...ranked 2nd in the NL with 25
RBI in June...also hit eight home runs in June, most in any month in his career...went 4-for-5 with a homer,
double, and 5 RBI on July 4 vs. New York-NL in Rockies' 17-7 victory...posted season-high 6 RBI on Aug.
8 vs. Milwaukee, matching his career high (also Sept. 18, 2006 vs. SF)...the Aug. 8 game was also one of
two four-hit games on the year, as his six RBI matched the most in a game by a Rockie all season...had two-
homer games on both June 29 at Houston and Aug. 29 at San Francisco...his 2-homer game in San
Francisco was one of just six multi-homer games by any player at AT&T Park in '07, one of just four by an opponent...
hit an inside-the-park home run on Sept. 23 at San Diego, benefiting from a missed diving catch by
centerfielder Mike Cameron on that play...was his first career inside-the-parker, ninth in Rockies' history, first
since Dustan Mohr's pinch inside-the-park homer on July 10, 2005 vs. San Diego...beginning Aug. 1, hit .369
over the season's final two months, rising from .263 to .301.2006In just his second full season in the major leagues, Atkins batted .329 with 29 home runs, 120 RBI, 117 runs scored, 198 hits, and 48 doubles in 157 games...finished T15th in N.L. MVP voting, one of 12 players to receive a vote of sixth or higher...established career highs in virtually every category...likely the club's most consistent hitter, his batting average never dipped below .304 after the first two games of the year...ranked among National League leaders in average (4th), hits (4th), doubles (T4th), RBI (5th), on-base percentage (6th, .409), total bases (6th, 335), extra base hits (T8th, 78), runs (9th), and slugging percentage (10th, .556)...ranked among N.L. batting average leaders at night (2nd, .333), at home (5th, .346), vs. right-handers (5th, .327), vs. lefties (5th, .341), on road (9th, .313), and with runners in scoring position (9th, .341)...averaged an RBI every 5.0 at-bats, 10th-best ratio in the league...his 120 RBI led all National League third basemen, second only to Yankees' Alex Rodriguez (121) among major leaguers at the position...was third-most RBI ever by a Rockies third baseman, trailing only Vinny Castilla in 1998 (144) and 2004 (129)...tied with San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez for N.L. lead with 24 grounded into double plays...had five games of four+ hits, most among Rockies and tied for most in N.L...Atkins was one of 19 major league players with at least 300 at-bats to have more walks (79) than strikeouts (76) in 2006...never struck out more than twice in a game, and did that just 12 times...Atkins' 117 runs was 9th-highest single season total in franchise history, while his 198 hits ranks T8th on club's all-time list for a campaign...led all Rockies in hits, doubles, RBI, go-ahead RBI (24), and game-winning RBI (13)...ranked second among Rox in homers, runs, walks, extra base hits, total bases, multi-hit games (54), and OPS (.965)...put ball in play on 51.3% of his swings this season, highest percentage among Rockies...won N.L. Player of the Week award twice, the first and last weeks of the campaign...homered in consecutive games on five occasions and was part of three of the team's four back-to-back homer efforts...hit one of the team's four grand slams...had at least one RBI in six straight games, Sept. 5-10...reached base safely via hit or walk in 57 of his final 60 games at Coors Field, including 37 straight from May 17-Aug. 13, the sixth-longest such streak in team history...beginning Aug. 26, batted .488 (20-for-41) with runners in scoring position over his final 33 games overall...ranked eighth among N.L. third basemen with a .953 (19 e/403 tc) fielding percentage...his 157 starts at third was tied for the major league lead...batted .347 (35-for-101) over his first 25 games through May 2...hit .271 (29-for-107) over 29 games from May 3-June 5, dropping average to .308...hit safely in eight straight from June 6-14 at .536 (15-for-28), rising from .308 to .335...from June 15-Aug. 25, hit .274 (65-for-237) to fall to .304...beginning Aug. 26, batted .419 (54-for-129) over his final 33 games to finish at .329...hit safely in 18 of 19 games from Aug. 23-Sept. 12...was named N.L. Player of the Week for first week of the season, the week ending April 9...hit go-ahead, two-run homer in eighth inning on April 27 at Philadelphia...had a 14-game hit streak from May 31-June 15 at .404 (21-for-52), the second-longest hit streak of his career and longest by a Rockie in 2006...reached base safely via hit, walk, or hit by pitch in 27 consecutive games from July 2-Aug. 4...hit third career grand slam on Aug. 13 vs. Chicago-NL...had consecutive four-hit games Sept. 18-19 vs. San Francisco...totaled 10 RBI in those two games, including career-high six RBI on Sept. 18, matching the most by a Rockie all season...posted his first career multi-homer game on Sept. 19 vs. San Francisco, blasts off Matt Cain and Jamey Wright...also had career-high 12 total bases in the game, most by a Rockie in '06...had career-high four walks in 14-inning win on Sept. 30 at Chicago-NL...homered in his final at-bat on Oct. 1 at Chicago-NL, the club's final hit of '06.2005After opening the season on the Rockies' disabled list, Garrett emerged as one of the top rookies in the major leagues...finished 4th in NL Rookie of the Year balloting by BBWAA...batted .287 with 13 home runs and 89 RBI...led all major league rookies with team-high 89 RBI, the first rookie in Rockies history to lead the club in RBI...it was the 5th-most RBI by a National League rookie in the last 26 seasons (beginning 1980)...it was the 3rd-highest RBI total by any major league rookie in the last 6 seasons (beginning 2000)...it also marked the 2nd-highest RBI total ever by a Rockies rookie, trailing only Todd Helton's 97 RBI in 1998...joined Helton and Matt Holliday as the only Colorado rookies to ever surpass 30 doubles and 50 RBI...suffered a strained right hamstring during an exhibition game on April 2 in Colorado Springs, the Rockies' final contest of the spring, and was placed on the disabled list the following day...played in 5 rehab games at third base for Colorado Springs from April 20-25, hitting safely in each contest...was activated on April 26 and went 2-for-3 that night vs. Florida...led NL rookies in total bases (221), doubles (31), walks (45), and extra base hits (45)...also ranked among the circuit's rookie leaders in hits (2nd, 149), multi-hit games (2nd, 44), runs (3rd, 62), home runs (T3rd, 13), on-base percentage (6th, .347), average (8th, .287), and slugging (9th, .426)...had a 16-game hit streak from Aug. 25-Sept. 11, longest by a major league rookie in 2005 and longest by a Rockie all year...it matched the longest hitting streak by a rookie in Rockies history (also Juan Pierre, 16 games, Aug. 8-23, 2000)...was one of 3 Colorado players with a qualifying average...led Rox with 24 multi-RBI games...ranked 2nd on team in hits, multi-hit games, doubles, and walks, while ranking 3rd among Rockies in extra base hits and total bases...led team with 2 grand slams, matching a club record...became the 9th Rockie with 2 slams in one season, first since Greg Norton in 2002...joined Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (2) as only major league rookies with multiple grand slams...averaged team-high 7.96 plate appearances per strikeout...5 of his 13 homers either tied game or gave Rockies the lead...had career-high 4 RBI on 4 occasions: June 28 vs. Houston, Aug. 15 vs. Milwaukee, Sept. 2 vs. LA, and Sept. 14 at LA....put ball in play on 54.5 percent of his swings, highest among Rockies and the 8th-highest percentage in the NL...batted .339 at home, 3rd-highest figure in the NL...hit .315 (28-for-89) with RISP and 2 outs...was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June after batting .364 with 9 doubles, 3 HR and club-best 26 RBI in 27 games...became the 3rd player in franchise history to win rookie of the month, joining Clint Barmes in April of 2005 and Jason Jennings in August of 2002...ranked 6th among qualifying NL third basemen with a .950 fielding percentage (18 e/358 tc)...led club with 136 starts at third base, the first-ever rookie to be the club's regular third baseman...did not commit an error in his final 25 games and 66 total chances after last miscue on Sept. 6 at San Diego...had just one error in final 40 games and 102 chances after miscue in 2nd inning on Aug. 19 vs. Chicago-NL...posted his only career 4-hit game on June 26 vs. Kansas City, and hit his first career grand slam on June 28 vs. Houston off of Russ Springer...beginning Aug. 25, hit safely in 32 of final 36 games at .315 (46-for-146) with 13 doubles, 4 homers and 32 RBI to finish at .287...on Sept. 14 at LA, hit 2nd career grand slam off D.J. Houlton...had 29 RBI in Sept., career high for a month and 2nd-most in club history for Sept...was also 2nd-most RBI in NL for Sept., 3rd-highest figure in the major leagues...also matched Todd Helton's club record (Aug. '98) for RBI by a rookie in a month...did not have a walk in final 22 games after last free pass on Sept. 9 vs. Arizona...did not walk in final 98 plate appearances, 2nd-longest walk-less streak by a position player to end the regular season behind only Tampa Bay's Toby Hall (119).2004Won the Pacific Coast League batting title and led all of minor league baseball with a .366 average
at Colorado Springs (AAA)...the PCL All-Star earned a September call-up with the Rockies on Sept. 7
and went on to play in 15 games, seven starts, batting .357 (10-
for-28) with 2 doubles, a homer and 8 RBI...started three games
at third base, two at first and two in left field...was 4-for-8 with runners
in scoring position...belted his first career home run as a
pinch hitter on Sept. 11, a 2-run shot off San Diego's Steve
Watkins...made his first career start in the outfield on Sept. 29 at
Los Angeles (LF) and went 1-for-3 with a RBI...he was plugged
back in that same role the following night, going 0-for-1 with a pair
of walks...played in 122 games for Colorado Springs, setting a Sky
Sox record with his minor league-leading .366 batting
average...led the PCL and Rockies organization in doubles (43)
and on-base percentage (.434), the latter of which ranked fifth
among all minor leaguers...complied a 23-game hitting streak from June 13-July 10, during which he batted
.446 (41-for-92) with 12 doubles, 7 homers and 32 RBI...it was the second longest streak in the PCL
behind Fresno's Dave Doster (32)...also posted a league-high 23-game home hitting streak from May
25-July 9...went 2-for-5 with 2 HR and a grand slam on June 29 against Nashville and wound up taking
home PCL Player of the Week honors, June 28-July 5...had a hand in back-to-back-to-back home runs in
two consecutive games for the Sky Sox, July 7-8, believed to be the first such occurrence in PCL history
and the first time it's happened in professional baseball in 10 years...hit .356 in June and then was hitting
.468 in July before being hospitalized due to an acute viral infection of his lower intestine...missed 15
games from July 18 to Aug. 1 before returning to action on Aug. 2...he went on to hit safely in 17 of his next
19 games after returning from injury, batting .377.2003Reached the top two echelons of the Rockies system, opening at AAA-Colorado Springs and finishing the year on the big league roster...saw action with Colorado on two separate stints in 2003...was originally recalled by the club Aug. 2 when Mark Bellhorn was placed on the 15-day disabled list and made his major league debut the following afternoon in Pittsburgh...went 1-for-6 with 2 RBI, including a run-scoring double off Jeff D'Amico in his first ML at-bat...Garrett's double capped a 5-run first inning for the Rockies on their way to a 16-4 victory...overall, Atkins batted .159 (11-for-69) with 2 doubles and 4 RBI in 25 games wearing a Rockies cap...all of his action came at third base, where he made 16 starts...had a pair of multi-RBI games accounting for all 4 RBI...strangely, both of those contests were his first after being recalled, Aug. 3 and Sept. 5...opened his ML career by going 5-for-20 at the plate but after a 1-for-4 effort on Aug. 13 at Montreal, Garrett went 0-for-his-next-11 and was optioned back to Colorado Springs Aug. 22...was
included as one of the club's September call-ups on Sept. 5 and got the start that night vs. Los Angeles, going 2-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI...in his second tour of duty with the Rox, he was 4-for-his-first-16, but then 0-for-his-next-18...finished the season on a high note with a 2-for-4 effort on Sept. 26 at San Diego in his last game of the year...struckout only twice in his first 31 at-bats, but then 12 times in his next 38 AB's...struggled with the glove,
committing 6 errors 31 total chances for an .850 fielding percentage...in the pinch, went 1-for-8, getting his lone hit Aug. 10 vs. Pittsburgh....opened the
year at Triple A for the first time as a pro...batted .319 (118-for-439) with 30 doubles, 13 homers and 67 RBI in 118 games for Colorado Springs...his .319
batting clip ranked seventh in the Pacific Coast League and was the third best in the system behind Rene Reyes (.343) and Corey Slavik (.321)...named
the bBest Hitting Prospect in the PCLb by Baseball America, which also tabbed him as the PCL's eighth best prospect overall at year's end...the former
fifth-round pick put on a show for the Rockies during spring training, batting .525 (21-for-40) with 8 doubles, a homer and 12 RBI in 23 Cactus League
games...carried that hot spring into the regular season, as he opened with a .476 average (20-for-42) over his first 11 games from April 3-13 ...ended
April with a .352 (32-for-91) mark...batted under .300 during only one month at Class AAA, that coming in July (.287, 29-for-101)...at the time of his recall,
was leading the Pacific Coast League in hits (133), tied for first in runs scored (75) and fifth in avg (.320)...had 44 multi-hit games at the Springs, including
29 two-hitters, 14 three-hitters and one four-hit outing, Aug. 27 at Iowa (4-for-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI).2002Atkins moved to third base in his first season at Double-A, playing 119 of his 138 games at the hot corner...Named Southern League Player of the Week, August 2-8...Led the team by hitting .294 (5-17) in the playoffs...Led the Mesa Solar Sox and ranked 4th in the AFL with a .353 (41-116) average.2001Named the Organizational Player-of-the-Year, Garrett led all Rockies minor leaguers with a .325
(151-for-465) average, falling just short of the Carolina League batting title (Victor Martinez, .329) ... led the
league in doubles (43), on-base percentage (.421) and intentional walks (10) ... finished second in hits (151),
walks (74) and slugging (.471) and fourth in RBI (67) ... his 43 doubles set a club record at the High A
level ... was named a mid-season and postseason Carolina League All-Star ... Salem's starting first-baseman
out of spring camp, Atkins got off to a torrid pace, batting .395 (34-for-86) in the month of April with 10 multihit
games ... collected his first professional 5-hit game on June 13 vs. Potomac, a 5-for-5 effort with 4 runs
scored ... drove in 25 runs in 28 games during the month of August ... tabbed as the Rockies' third best
prospect by Baseball America following the season.2000Garrett was named co-MVP of the Northwest League in his first professional season...led Portland with a .303 average, good for seventh in the league...ranked second in the circuit in RBI (47), third in on-base percentage (.411) and 5th in hits (76)...honored as a Short Season Class A All-Star by Baseball America...was also the league's all-star first baseman.